Russian President Vladimir Putin has blown the whistle on the real reason that the world is on the brink of all-out nuclear war. According to Mr. Putin, the story being pushed in the mainstream media that North Korea has nuclear weapons is a complete fabrication designed convince the public that the hermit nation is a global threat. "[North Korea] don't have any nuclear weapons. This is a lie being forced on the people by the corporate-owned Western media", said Putin during an emotionally charged Q&A session in Sochi. "They know they can easily provoke the North Koreans and they will react, but the story that they are a threat is false." "I will tell you the facts about North Korea: They don't have nuclear bombs. They don't have Western-controlled banks. They don't depend on the US dollar. What they do have is a land full of wealth in unmined minerals." According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, President Putin has "had some time away to reflect" on the US-North Korean conflict and believes that the situation has "gone too far".